Tarik Hussein thinks there were only 10 kanuns in Australia when he began playing in 2006.
asserted
he → think → 2006
The Sydney musician and engineer says he grew up playing the piano and guitar, and discovered the kanun when he was 17 years old.
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he → say → kanun
The kanun is a precursor to the piano, played by plucking 78 strings with the fingers while it lays across the player's lap.
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it → play → lap
Mr Hussein says it is impossible to find kanuns in Australia, so when he started teaching the instrument, he needed to get them imported from Türkiye.
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them → say → Türkiye
He says because the instruments are generally quite old and rare, they would often get damaged in transit or wear out quickly.
"
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they → say → transit
They would have a lot of issues with the skin tearing and the bridge collapsing," he says.
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he → have → tearing
To avoid this, Mr Hussein resolved to become the only maker of kanuns in Australia, enlisting the help of his father-in-law, who had a functioning home workshop and a passion for challenging craft projects.
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who → avoid → projects
"His woodworking skills helped me to maintain the instruments and repair the instruments," Mr Hussein says.
"
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Hussein → help → instruments
And then I thought to challenge him and ask if he'd be willing to try to make one together."
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he → think → one
Mr Hussein said making a kanun was something of a close-guarded secret among the makers in Türkiye, so they reverse-engineered his favourite one.
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they → say → one
"He pretty much pulled my favourite one completely apart.
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He → pull → one
It was actually very heartbreaking to see," he said.
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he → see → ?
"We came up with something that I would say is quite unique.
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I → come → something
It's not the same as what you'd get overseas.
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you → get → what
Mr Hussein says as far as they can tell, they are the only kanun makers in Australia.
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they → say → Australia
But they do this as a labour of love, not as a commercial outfit.
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they → do → outfit
"We spend more than a year or two per instrument,"Mr Hussein said.
"Then, seeing my students' face light up when I tell them that this is something that we built here, and they're going to learn on that.
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they → spend → that
That really brings me joy."
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That → bring → joy
Exceptional stories in items in the suburbs
Mr Hussein and his father-in-law's personal connection with kanuns features in a new film series launching with a festival marking the opening of Powerhouse Parramatta on November 7.
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Hussein → feature → November
The series of short films, called Moments in Waiting, is by western Sydney artist Khaled Sabsabi and focuses on significant objects from the Islamic world found in Sydney's suburbs.
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series → call → suburbs
Mr Sabsabi says he found the extraordinary in the ordinary after a series of public call-outs over the past few years.
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he → say → years
"It is about not just the objects, but also the stories that are contained within those objects," he said.
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he → contain → objects
"It's a way to bring out these stories and share them with broader Australian communities."
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It → bring → communities
Mr Sabsabi says Mr Hussein's story shaped up as a modern Australian experience of migration and cultural diversity.
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story → say → migration
"We come together and, from various places, we bring our technologies, our stories, our being, to shape a modern contemporary Australian identity," he said.
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he → come → identity
Mr Hussein will also perform on his kanun with the Three Rivers Ensemble during the opening festival.
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Hussein → perform → festival
The recently announced festival spans 179 events across four weekends in November, including a talk by veteran astronaut Charles F Bolden Jr, a major performance by a Torres Strait Island group for the first time outside of the islands, and a Diwali day party.
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festival → announce → islands
A collection that rivals a museum
Among the stories in Moments in Waiting is a decree from the Ottoman Empire written in four languages that found its way to Australia when the owner fled the early 1990s war in Bosnia.
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owner → rival → Bosnia
The series also features an entire home in Bonyrigg in Sydney's south-west that at one point served as a mosque and produced the Australian Muslim Times.
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that → feature → Times
There's also a collection of more than 100 calligraphic manuscripts of the Koran that rivals any Australian museum collection, owned by Sydney teacher Mohamad Ali.
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that → be → Ali
Mr Ali said he had extensively collected vinyl, cassettes and T-shirts of artists such as Madonna, Prince and Eurythmics before finding an interest in Islam in his 20s, when he saw an exhibition by Persian-born collector Nasser David Khalili.
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he → say → Khalili
He became fascinated with the intricate work of calligraphers, who would likely have taken years to write a 600-page Koran.
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who → become → Koran
"For them, it was a journey — a spiritual journey,"Mr Ali said.
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Ali → say → them
"I just wanted to learn a little bit more about the scribing process … but then that led me to a greater understanding, or a deeper understanding, of what my own personal faith was about."
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faith → want → what
Mr Ali's extensive collection goes as far back as the 8th century, encompassing many Islamic empires and dynasties.
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collection → go → empires
He hopes the story of his collection will go beyond the Islamic community and create a greater appreciation for the cultural impact of Islam on the world, in art and education.
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story → hop → art
"Islam's got a lot, and has always had a lot, to contribute to the world's existence," Mr Ali said.
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Ali → get → existence
The Aporia